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November 17, 2010

Harry Potter - This Muggle Isn't Ready for the End

The visual half of Harry Potter is drawing to a close. Well, almost. We'll get the premiere of the last half of the Deadly Hallows in the summer. Then there will be the special edition boxed set in time for Christmas 2011. Oh and don't forget the extra special super edition set with your very own house elf. I plan to name mine Legolas. Oh, he's a different kind of elf isn't he? Right. I always forget that.

Because the Deathly Hallows is dark and action packed and set away from the safety of Hogwarts, I have high hopes for the movie. I'm glad it's split into two parts because less will be cut out. This isn't the time or place to cut out swathes of narrative. Sure, it will result in Warner Brothers getting more money, but fans get to see more fantastical things. I know it will be worth the torturous eight month wait. But then, emptiness. No more Harry Potter movies unless J.K. Rowling decides to dive back into that world quill first.

All of the articles I've read about the last installment of the Harry Potter saga (hey, if Twilight can be a saga, then Harry Potter is more than entitled to the name) are about the cast. I've read plenty about what Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, and Rupert Grint are doing next and how they feel about spending half their lives in the world of witchcraft and wizardry.* I lapped up every one of those articles with glee, but what about us? What about the fans? What are we going to do next?

We don't have an amazing follow up waiting in the wings. The film interpretation of The Hunger Games is on the horizon, but there's just three books. Though I love the world of the Hunger Games, it's not the eye candy with an amazing cast of characters like Harry Potter. We do get more of Middle Earth in the two part version of The Hobbit. That will make me forget about The Boy Who Lived temporarily. We have comics coming to the screen left and the right, but it's not the same either. Really, nothing can be. I'm not really looking for a replacement either, just a consolation sort of pat on the back. I think I can speak for legions of fans when I talk about the characters like they are my old and dear friends. We've spent more than a decade walking the corridors of Hogwarts, being terrified of Voldemort, practicing spells with pretend wands, and choosing our House. I remember the day that I borrowed The Sorcerer's Stone and The Chamber of Secrets from my sister. I read them in just a couple of sittings. I was instantly enchanted and addicted. When the movie news started to buzz, well, I held equal excitement for Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings.

The movies have not let me down in the slightest. Sure, they are different from the books. It's not fair to hold a movie word for word to the book it was inspired by. But every character was cast spot on. They were all exactly who I pictured before the movie existed. That these rich and spectacular books could come to life like so many people imagined it – well, it was beyond delightful. When you see books like that translated so successfully to the screen, it's easy to nudge the arrow of fantasy more towards the side of reality. You can really immerse yourself even further into the world. I enjoy the books without the visual side, but the films have really meant a lot to me.

I'm incredibly excited about the release of the Deathly Hallows, but also a little sad. I'm not ready for it to be over yet.

*If I could get an interview with any of them, I would write yet another article about that subject.

11 comments:

I'm with you Amy....it is bittersweet. I will be joining my son and his 6 friends for the midnight show. I can't wait! BTW-Harry Potter the Exhibition is in Seattle until Jan.30th. I saw it last weekend and it is amazing! That is last stop on their N. American tour, before heading back to London for good. Here's the link: http://www.pacsci.org/harrypotter/

Oh, I can't wait to see these last two movies!!! The stakes are so high, it's going to be a wild ride.

It does kind of feel like the end of an era, though. I'll miss having something like these movies that I can reliably look forward to. At least we have the Hobbit movies. But beyond that? Nothing's quite the same.

I hope that even without new books and movies coming out, Harry Potter will continue to be popular. If the next generation of kids starts to ignore Harry Potter, I think it will break my heart.

Well, although the exciting wait for next movie/book to come will be over, think of it that way: you'll now have lots of things to go back to. It might not be as fun anymore, but it's better than nothing, no?

Also, this might be just my imagination, but I believe JK Rowling said something about coming back to Harry Potter world with the children of the main heroes or so, in an installment of for-children books.